Facing a War
by Shannon1991xo
Summary: 'And we stand together facing a war. And our love is gonna conquer it all, we are lionhearts.' [Sequel to Nightingale]
1. one

'You okay?' Nick asks as he helps Carla out of the car and she places her hand across her stomach.

'Mmm... Just a bit achy.' She replies quietly as she glances down at the carseat containing their newborn daughter.

'I've got a surprise for you inside.' He says closing the car door and wrapping his arm around her waist.

'You do?' She asks and he nods his head as he guides her to the front door.

'Yep. Lorna's going to bring Amelia home a little bit later so I was thinking you could go for a sleep before our tiny tornado gets home.' He replies causing her to smile.

'Sounds good to me.' She says watching him let go of her to unlock the door. Just over a year ago they decided to settle down in the Lake District; a place which Carla had fallen in love with during her short stay there. They found a little house near Lorna, who they quickly became very close with, that they could call home.

'Come on then.' He replies holding the door open to let her into the house.

'Thank you.' She says softly. She slides her jacket off her arms and hangs it up before glancing down at her shoes.

'We'll get them upstairs, babe.' Nick says and she nods her head. Keeping hold of the carseat he kicks his own shoes off before following Carla upstairs.

'Nick, did you?' Carla asks causing him to smile as he sees her standing at their bedroom door staring inside.

'I remember you telling me that with Amelia you wanted one of those co-sleepers but he wouldn't let you because he wanted her in his own room.' Nick replies and she lifts her hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

'Oh Nick...' She whispers stepping further into the bedroom. Attached to her side of the bed is a beautiful white co-sleeping crib and in the corner of the room is a rocking chair with a little table and lamp set up beside it.

'Do you like it?' He asks and she nods her head.

'I love it, Nick. Thank you.' She replies.

* * *

'You comfy?' Nick asks and Carla nods her head.

'As comfy as I can be... I still can't believe how mad that labour was.' She replies glancing down at where Thea sleeps peacefully in the co-sleeper.

'You done so well, I am so proud of you.' Nick says and she shakes her head.

'I didn't really do anything in the end, did I?' She replies quietly.

'You were in labour for 19 hours before they decided on the c-section, Carla. You went through so much and you grew our beautiful little girl for forty whole weeks, you done everything.' He says running his fingers gently down her cheek.

'Mmm... I can't wait to see our other beautiful girl.' She admits and he nods his head.

'I'm sure Lorna will be here soon.' He replies and as if on cue there's a soft knock at the front door.

'You stay here... Don't move a muscle.' He says kissing the top of her head before climbing off the bed. Reaching onto the bedside table she grabs her phone and takes a quick picture of Thea who's sleeping peacefully.

'Mumma...' A small voice says and Carla instantly glances over at the door where Nick and Amelia are standing.

'Hi, baby girl... Come give mummy a cuddle?' Carla says putting her arms out. Almost instantly Amelia runs towards her and attempts to climb onto the bed.

'Be careful with mummy's tummy, okay?' Nick says as he lifts Amelia onto the bed and sits down beside her.

'Where baby?' Amelia asks.

'She's over there, sweetie. Give mummy a cuddle then daddy will lift you so you can see her better.' Carla replies.

'Love you, mumma.' Amelia mumbles and Carla smiles as she wraps her arms around her.

'Love you too, baby girl.' She says softly.

'Right do you want to meet Thea?' Carla asks kissing the top of the little girl's head. Nick smiles as he lifts the little girl onto his hip and makes his way over to the other side of the bed.

'Baby!' Amelia says gesturing down to the baby.

'Can you give baby a kiss?' Nick asks as he bends down. Carla can't stop the tears from filling her eyes as she watches Amelia lean over and ever so softly kiss Thea's head.

'You okay?' Nick asks glancing at Carla who nods her head.

'Fine, better than fine actually.' She replies smiling.

* * *

'Do you want me to bring dinner upstairs to you?' Nick asks and Carla shakes her head.

'No, we're going to eat like a family just like we always do.' Carla replies.

'Are you sure?' He asks and she nods her head.

'I'm fine, honestly. I know we won't be able to do as much as we used to until I've properly healed but I want to get things as back to normal as I can.' She replies smiling.

'Okay then. Do you want me to bring Thea downstairs?' He asks and she nods her head.

'Please.' She replies. He lifts Thea into his arms and follows Carla downstairs to the dining room where Amelia is already in her highchair.

'What we having?' Carla asks running her fingers through the ends of Amelia's hair before sitting down.

'Chinese... I got a few different dishes so you can pick whatever you fancy.' He replies causing her to smile.

'Mmm... Sounds good.' She says smiling.

'I can't believe she's actually here.' Carla admits glancing down at Thea who's fast asleep in her swing beside her chair.

'I know; it's crazy to think we now have two girls.' Nick says smiling.

'I didn't think I would ever be this happy again. I didn't think I deserved to be this happy again but you once again have been my saviour; I don't think you even realise the impact you have on my life. You are, not including the kids, the one person I want to live for. You give me hope and I guess I've needed that more than anything.' She replies smiling.


	2. two

**I'm not 100% sure if I've mentioned Jake's surname in Nightingale so if I have I'm sorry.**

'Morning, beautiful...' Nick says softly as Carla stirs beside him. He smiles slightly as she blinks a few times before staring up at him.

'Hi.' She replies quietly.

'Happy birthday.' He says and she smiles.

'Thank you.' She replies placing her hand across her stomach as she rolls onto her side.

'So here's what's going to happen; Amelia and I are going to go pick up a few things that we need and then we're going to make you breakfast, okay?' He asks reaching over to run his finger down her cheek.

'You don't have to do that, Nick.' She replies causing him to shake his head.

'I want you. You, my love, are going to get well and truly spoiled today.' He says smiling.

'Could you grab me a cup of tea before you leave?' She asks and he nods his head.

'Of course I can.' He replies.

'Anything else?' He asks climbing out of the bed.

'No, I'm good.' She replies.

'Okay. I'll be two minutes.' He says. He quickly leaves the room and Carla glances over at Thea.

'Mummy's getting old, baby girl.' She almost whispers as she grabs her phone and scrolls down her unread texts.

 **From dad :**

 _Happy birthday, sweetheart! I hope you have an amazing day and we'll Skype you later x_

 **From Michelle :**

 _Happy birthday, lovely. Hope Nick and your girls spoil you rotten today. Can't wait to meet the newest tiny Tilsley xx_

She's got numerous other texts from family and friends; after replying to each and every one of the texts, she places her phone back on the bedside table and gazes down at Thea.

'You are perfect, little love.' She says.

* * *

'So I was thinking we could make mummy one of those breakfast bowl things she likes?' Nick says as he places Amelia in the trolley seat.

'Yeah, daddy.' Amelia replies smiling up at him.

'We also need to get mummy a cake... What kind of cake do you think she'd like?' He asks.

'Peppa.' She replies and he shakes his head.

'I don't think mummy wants a peppa cake, darling. What about chocolate?' He suggests smiling as she nods.

'Choc-choc.' She replies.

'We'll get chocolate then... You know, your mummy is one of the strongest people I've ever met and she deserves the absolute world so we're going to spoil her today.' He says.

'Love mummy.' Amelia says causing him to smile.

'Yeah, I love mummy too.' He replies. The past two years haven't been the easiest; getting Carla to a stage where she felt completely comfortable around him took what felt like forever. Even now she still occasionally has nightmares and pushes him away but he knows that as long as he stays by her side she'll always get through it.

'Hi, lovely... Are you helping your daddy do the shopping?' Stacey, the cashier, asks as Nick passes Amelia a banana.

'Mummy's birthday.' Amelia replies grinning.

'Oh is it your mummy's birthday? That's lovely. Did you get her a nice present?' Stacey asks and Amelia grins.

'A baby.' The little girl replies and Nick laughs.

'We didn't get mummy a baby, Amelia. Mummy just happened to have the baby before her birthday.' Nick says smiling as he hands Stacey the money for their items.

'You tell your mummy happy birthday.' Stacey says giving Nick his change.

'Kay!' Amelia replies grinning.

* * *

 _A 48 year old prisoner has absconded from a prison in Manchester. Jake Thomas is serving eleven years for attempted murder and police are warning he is a very violent individual. It's understood that Thomas has links to the Devon area._

Tears stream down Carla's cheeks as she cradles Thea close to her chest and glances over at the window.

'I'll keep you safe, baby girl...' She whispers. Climbing out of bed she quickly makes sure the window is locked before making her way over to the bedroom door. She's just about to open the door when she hears footsteps downstairs. She sobs quietly as she covers her mouth with her hand.

'Where's mummy? Shall we go see if she's still awake?' Nick asks keeping Amelia balanced on his hip as he makes his way upstairs and closing the baby gate behind him.

'Mummy!' Amelia replies and Nick nods his head. Making his way into the bedroom he sighs as he finds it completely empty.

'Carla?' He says placing Amelia down on the floor he makes his way over to the ensuite bathroom.

'Babe, where are you?' He mumbles.


	3. three

'N-Nick?' A voice almost whispers and Nick instantly rushes over to the closet. Pulling open the door he gasps slightly as he finds Carla sitting on the floor, Thea curled up in her arms as tears stream down her cheeks.

'What happened?' He asks bending down in front of her.

'I-Jake's escaped... I heard noises downstairs and I panicked.' She admits causing him to sigh.

'Oh sweetheart, it was just me coming home.' He says taking Thea from her arms.

'Let me put her in the co-sleeper and I'll be back, okay?' He says and she nods her head. He quickly places Thea in her co-sleeper before making his way back to Carla and helping her out of the closet.

'I've got you... You're safe now.' He says wrapping his arms around her.

'I was so scared.' She mumbles glancing at where Amelia is sat on the floor playing with some makeup brushes.

'How did you find out he's escaped?' He asks.

'The news... Fuck, why can't my life ever be easy.' She says shaking her head.

'Hey, we'll get through this. You, my love, are safe and so is Amelia. I won't let him hurt you.' He replies kissing the top of her head as she sighs.

'Don't leave me.' She whispers.

'Never.' He replies.

'Do you want me to make sure all the windows and doors are locked?' He asks.

'Please.' She replies quietly.

'Stay here. I'll be back up in two minutes, okay?' He says and she nods her head. Hesitantly she sits down on the edge of the bed and glances around the room as he quickly makes his way downstairs to lock everything.

'Are you okay?' Nick asks making his way into the bedroom where Carla runs her hand over her stomach.

'Mmm... Cramped closet properly wasn't good for my stitches.' She replies and he sighs.

'You should get back in bed... Rest for a while.' He says standing in front of her as she rests her head against his stomach.

'I'm scared.' She admits quietly.

* * *

'Hello?' Nick says holding the phone to his ear as he glances down at Carla fast asleep curled into his side.

'Nick, it's Michelle. I've just seen the news; how's she doing?' Michelle asks causing Nick to sigh.

'Not good, Michelle. I went to Asda this morning to grab some bits to make her breakfast and when I got back she was literally hiding in the closet... We were finally getting somewhere and now he's fucked it up again.' He replies.

'Johnny's going to drive up tonight, is that okay?' She asks.

'That would be great. Can you ask him to phone when he gets here instead of knocking? Carla's a bit jumpy with sudden noises.' He says glancing as she stirs slightly before settling back down.

'Of course. Phone me if you need absolutely anything.' She says.

'I will, thank you for phoning.' He replies.

'Don't even worry about it.' She says before hanging up. Placing his phone on the bed he sighs and kisses the top of Carla's head; this was not how he envisioned spending her birthday.

'Nick...' She mumbles sleepily and he runs his finger down her cheek.

'You're okay, I'm here... You're safe.' He says.

* * *

'What do you want to do today? Anything special to celebrate your birthday?' Nick asks.

'Can we just stay in?' She asks quietly as she glances at where Amelia is playing with her dolls house.

'If it's what you want but I don't want you to stop living your life because he's escaped. They'll catch him and he'll be locked away for even longer.' He says.

'I want to just stay in.' She replies and he nods his head.

'Okay then. So I was thinking we could book a holiday? Maybe take the girls to Disneyland?' He suggests and she smiles slightly.

'Sounds perfect to me.' She replies.

'Are you still tired?' He asks as she covers her mouth and yawns.

'Little bit.' She replies glancing at Thea.

'Go back to sleep? I can sort out Amelia and I promise I'll keep all the doors and windows locked.' He says and she nods her head.

'Okay.' She replies quietly.


End file.
